The Armored Cruiser is constructed using a 38,000 Tonhull built in a Wedge configuration. The hull is fully streamlined, giving good atmospheric performance that is further enhanced by its onboard gravitic systems.

There are multiple airlocks located around the vessel. The cargo hold is accessed by large doors and has a loading ramp.

The vessel mounts a Jump-2 drive, a Maneuver-2 drive, and a Power Plant-4, giving performance of Jump-2 and 2-G acceleration. The ship has an agility rating of 1 and an emergency agility of 2. The internal fuel tankage is sufficient for two consecutive Jump-2s and gives the power plant 4 weeks duration.

Build times can be reduced by mass production and the efficiencies such processes generate, by increased financing, and by allotting additional yard resources and facilities to the construction contract.

The Last Armada class Armored Cruiser is a class of warships designed and built for the Expedition. This class of vessel is historical – no extant examples are known to exist. They were constructed under the aegis of the Expedition to escort the vessels of the Last Armada on their perilous voyage into the unknown. Because of the demands for greater range, requiring additional onboard fuel, the design were armored similarly to strike cruisers of the era rather than traditional heavy cruisers. The 2G acceleration and low agility were also necessary trade-offs.

The over-engineered, extra-thick hull plating added greater structural strength to the design, allowing it to survive the extremely long voyage through unexplored space. The hull armor primarily served as shielding for the precious cargo of life rather than to protect the ship from serious battle damage. The armored hull helped to limit long-term radiation exposure, shielding embryos from lethal dosages delivered by high speed, short wavelength particles.